11/27/2017

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Foundation, which was established May 20, 1997 with a $2 million dollar contribution from the Bank. In early October at the Foundation’s annual grant reception, President, Stephen Lewis announced the “20 Ways in 20 Days” initiative in order to recognize this milestone anniversary. In addition to the $590,000 in grants awarded to date in 2017, $30,000 has been allocated to be distributed to local organizations chosen by Bank employees.

The premise of this initiative is to empower all Bank employees to participate in giving back to the communities within the Foundation’s fourteen (14) assessment areas. Bank employees were divided up into 20 teams and given 20 days to identify local organizations to receive surprise grants without any restrictions on how the funds should be used. Each of the 20 teams identified 42 organizations who they felt were deserving of receiving grants ranging from $500 up to $1,500.

Beginning the week after Thanksgiving Thomaston Savings Bank employees will present these surprise grants to the 42 different organizations at each of the Bank’s branches. The culmination of this initiative will be the presentation of the last grant on December 22 at our Bethlehem branch to kick off the holiday giving season.

“We are very proud of all our employees and the thoughtful consideration each team put into this initiative to enrich the lives of so many. The hope is that these organizations will each have a different way of using the funds to benefit the individuals they serve.”– Stephen Lewis, President of the Thomaston Savings Bank Foundation